Bookbinder&#39;s gage.



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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES ADAM-S, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOOKBINDERS GAGE.

Application filed December 28, 1915.

To ail whom it may concern Be it known that 1', JAMES ADAMS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Bookbinders Gage, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in gages for use on or as parts of machines for cutting or trimming press or binders boards for the covers of books, and more especially for the covers of books of miscellaneous sizes, and consists essentially of a member and clamping gage bar member equipped with a certain peculiar, book-supporting, gage and clamping member relative to which latter said bar has a limited amount of vertical movement, such clamping elements taking the place of the ordinary clamping bar or clamp in a binders board trimming or cutting machine, together with such supporting and other members as may be required, all as hereinafter set forth.

Various machines are in common use for trimming to size boards for the covers of books of uniform size. Such machines require to be reset only when a different size is to be cut, and are not readily available for trimming boards for the covers of books of miscellaneous sizes. Resetting such a machine for cutting boards of miscellaneous sizes being practically out of the question, such sizes can be out only by first marking out the board by measurement or the eye, and then introducing it beneath the clamp of the machine, in each case, taking care that the amount of projection of each board, on the side of the machine where the knives are located, is just right, and that the boards in each pair match in size.

With my invention I am able to utilize the book to be covered as a gage element, and to do the work very much more quickly and generally more accurately than in the old way and by the old means. This, then, is the primary object of my invention.

A further object of my invention is to provide a gage, of the class described, that is simple in construction and operation, capable of operating with books and on cover boards of practically any size, and can be substituted for the old clamp in a trimming machine of the type commonly used at the present time. This last is an important and valuable feature, since the expense of a new machine throughout is thereby obviated.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

Serial No. 69,061.

This gage is largely automatic in character and thereby possesses the advantages, in addition to those already pointed out, which naturally must inhere in such a device as compared to wholly manual means, as will readily be understood.

Although my device is designed more particularly to gage cover boards to width for cutting, such gaging for width being the more dillicult, said device can also be used to advantage in gaging the board to length for cutting.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description.

A preferred form or embodiment of the invention, whereby I attain the objects and secure the advantages of the same, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and I will proceed to describe the invention with reference to said drawings, although it is to be understood that the form, construction, arrangement, etc, of the parts in various as pects are not material and may be modified without departure from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings, in which like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a gage which embodies my invention as aforesaid, with a book and cover board in position ready for said board to be clamped, portions of the clamping gage bar and table being broken out to economize space, and a fragment of the face plate broken out to uncover the parts behind; Fig. 2, a front elevation of said bar, broken away as in the preceding view; Fig. 3, an inside elevation of the face plate for said bar; Fig. 4, an enlarged transverse vertical section through said bar and other parts, taken on lines 1%, looking in the direction of the associated arrow, in Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a similar section on lines 55, looking in the direction of the associated arrow, Fig. 1, said book and cover board being shown here again, but this time with the bar down in clamping position and said board secured by said bar and by the intervening combined table is represented at 1. This may be the table of an ordinary trimming machine, but in any event is needed 1n connection with the other gage elements. A treadle and springs or other means for depressing and elevating the clamp and blades or knives for cutting the cover boards are not shown, inasmuch as they are old and well known in the art of cutting press boards, only the upper terminal portions of the customary supporting and carrying rods for the clamp being presented and represented at 22. The rods 2 are parts of the mechanism by means of which the clamp is raised and lowered.

In Figs. 1 and 5 an uncovered book is represented at 3 and a piece of press board at 6, from which board one of the covers for said book is to be produced. The gage, aside from the table 1 and the book to be covered, which latter as well as said table is reallv a a e element com )rises a hori-v zontal bar 7 mounted at the ends of the rods 2, and a horizontal bar 8 connected with said first-mentioned bar in such a manner as to permit of independent relative move ment between them, a horizontal face plate 9 being provided in this case to assist in confining said bar 8. The bar 8 is the member that comes into direct contact with the board 6. The bar 8 is provided at the bottom with a forwardly-extending ledge 10 of thin material. This ledge receives the front edge of the book and prevents any of the bottom leaves thereof from being thrust with the board 6 under the bar 8, as will presently be made clear.

Although the bar 8 itself might serve as a stop for the book when pushed into place, I prefer to provide a horizontal stop bead 11 on the front of said bar above the ledge 10. The bead 11 and the ledge 10 may be made in one piece and secured to the front of the bar 8 by means of screws 12, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The bead 11 affords an abutment for the concave and firmer intermediate portion of the front edge of the book, so that the amount of rearward adjustment of the book is positively determined, which would not be the case if the projecting and unstable top and bottom portions of such edge were depended upon to determine such amount of rearward adjustment. In order to out both covers of the same width, some provision such as the stop bead 11 is needed, for the reason just stated.

The bar 7, at one side of its transverse vertical center, the left-hand side in the present case, has a large recess 13 therein which extends through from side to side and opens through the bottom edge of said bar, and there is a similar recess 13 in the face plate 9, and it is in these recesses that the bar 8 with its ledge 10 and bead or stop 11 is located.

The bar 7 is the substitute for the old clamp bar and operated in a similar manner, but it can be shortened by omitting the major portion thereof which is at the right of the recess 13 therein, provided it be not desired to use such portion as a gage for length cutting. Bosses 1t-1 are provided at the ends of the bar 7 to thicken said bar at these points for the reception of the rods The bar 7 is faced off on the front side at and adjacent to the ends of its recess 13, as shown at 1515 in Fig. "2, to receive the ends of the plate 9, and said bar is cut still deeper above and at the ends of said recess to form seats 16 and 1717, also shown in Fig, 2, to rece' e a. thickened part 18 and end lugs 1919, best shown in Fig. 3, on

the inside of said plate, the depth of the inset parts being equal to that of the cuts, so that the contiguous faces of said bar and plate can come together at all points. The seat 16 in the bar 7 extends down at both ends of the recess 13 in said bar, past the recesses 17, to form with the plate 9 when in place slots or pockets 20-20, the tops of such pockets being defined by the thickened part or overhang 18 of said plate and the bottoms of such pockets by ledges or shoulders 2121 that are integral with said bar. Screws 22-22 are employed to fasten the face plate securely to the bar 7, such screws passing through holes 23-23 in said plate to enter holes tapped into said bar. The interlocking parts of the bar 7 and plate 9 and the screws 22 firmly secure said plate in place, so that a sufficiently strong and rigid carrier is formed for the bar 8.

The bar 8 has a thickened part or overhang at the top on the front side, to stiffen and strengthen said bar, with projecting end supports26-%. The supports 26 are received in the pockets or slots 20 and rest on the ledges 21 when the bar 7 is in elevated position. The vertical dimensions of the supports 26 are less than the corresponding dimensions of the slots 20, so that independent vertical movement of the bar 7 relative to the bar 8 is permitted, but otherwise said supports have a sliding fit with the slotted parts and there can be no independent movement or ()lfl j'Ol'tfllllty for said bar 8 to be forced out of the perpendicular.

The bar 8 is directly under the upper edge of the recess or opening 13 in the bar 7 and extends from end to end of such opening, while the overhan 25 and the end supports 26 are directly under the under edge of the overhan 1S, consequently when said bar 7 is depressed said upper and under edges contact with the upper edges of said .bar 8 and overhang 25, respectively, and force down said bar 8, after the lost motion afforded by the slots 20 is taken up.

The thickness of the bar 8 practically de termines the amount of front-edge projection which the book cover will have when out and bound with the book, hence such thickness and such amount of projection must agree and will when due allowance is made for the presence of the bead 11 and for any space that may be taken up behind said bar by the knives. As a rule the head 11 adds but little to the width of the gage and the knives very much less if any.

Gage bars similar to the bar 8 but of clifferent thicknesses may be provided for the purpose of measuring and cutting covers having greater or less front-edge projections, and one such bar can be easily substituted for another upon removing the face plate 9. Gage bars of two sizes or thicknesses are all that will usually be required.

Ordinarily the weight of the bar 8 with its parts is sufficient to prevent said bar from riding up with the bar 7 when the latter is elevated, but to insure against the possibility of displacement of said bar 8 a spring 27 may be pocketed at 28 in the face-plate overhang 18 over each support 26 and arranged to bear on said support.

The bar 8 is suspended or supported, by the bar 7 when elevated, far enough above the table 1 to permit the press board to be pushed under said bar 8. This is the normal position of the gage bar and is illustrated in Fig. 1.

The operation of gaging the covers of a book is very simple and will now be eX- plained, using the book 3 and the board 6 as illustrations. The board 6, which is larger of course than the cover to be produced therefrom, is placed on the table 1, and the book 3 is placed on top of said board, with the bound edge of said book toward the operator and the corresponding edge of said board located against the under shoulder 29 of the book back. Next the book 8 with the board 6 is pushed toward the gage, and the edge of said book which is adjacent to the bar 8 is raised onto the ledge 10, while the leading edge of said'board is passed under said bar. The book is pushed against the bead 11, and then the bar 7 is depressed to clamp the board securely in place on the table, as shown in Fig. 5, while the part of said board that projects beyond the bar 8 is being cut off. In descending the bar 7 with its parts contacts with the bar 8, as hereinbe fore explained, and forces the latter down hard on the board (3, so that the same is held securely on the table during the subsequent cutting operation. The width of the board 6 required to cover the book and afford the required front-edge projection is determined by the shoulder 29 and the size of the gage, an allowance being made for enough additional width to permit the board to be bound. After this board, which is for one cover of the book, has been trimmed to width, the bar 7 is elevated to free the bar 8 and thelatter is raised a little so that said board can be removed without difficulty.

Then a board for theother cover is placed in position under the book and against the shoulder 29, said book is returned to place partly on the ledge 10 and against the head 11, while the leading edge of said board is pushed beneath the bar 8, and the board is clamped and after being cut released and re moved as before. In this way the two cover boards are easily, quickly, and uniformly trimmed to width.

In a similar manner the cover boards for another book of a different width can be trimmed, for any number of books of different widths in fact, and all without making any mechanical adjustments whatever, the books themselves automatically making the required adjustments by serving as auxiliary parts of the gage.

lVhen that part of the bar 7 which is at the right of the plate 9 is to be used as a gage for cutting the cover boards to length, such part has a thickness which is equal to twice the amount of end projection of the book cover, hence by placing the book on cover board, both being endwise to said bar and with the end edges that are the more remote from said bar flush with each other, and pushing said book and board toward the bar until the book comes to rest squarely against it and the board passes under and projects beyond the same, the required gaging is accomplished. The bar is in raised position at this time so that the board can pass under it, but said bar is depressed, as soon as the book and board are in place, to clamp said board ready for cutting. The board when released by the bar 7, after being cut, will be equal to the length of the book plus the amount of the thickness of said bar, which amount divided by two gives the required amount of projection at each end of said book. Both cover boards might be cut to length at one time. In Fig. 6 is illustrated the manner in which the end gaging is done.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A book-binders gage comprising, with a supporting member, a clamping gage bar,

which is movable relative to said supporting member, and a gage and clamping mem ber carrled b 7 said bar and )rovided with a book-supporting member, the arrangement of parts being such that said bar is in- 1 dependently movable to a limited extent relative to said gage and clamping member.

2. A. book-binders gage comprising a support, and a clamping member movable to ward and away from said support, said member being provided with an underneath supporting member for the contiguous edge portion of a book.

3. A book-binders gage comprising a support, and a clamping member movable to- Ward and away from said support, said 'ward and away from said support, said member being provided with an underneath supporting member for the contiguous edge portion of a book, and with a stop to receive against it the front edges of the leaves of said book.

The combination, in a book-binders gage, with a table, of a clamp bar movable toward and away from said table, and a gage bar supported in and by said clamp bar, the construction and arrangement being such that said clamp bar has a limited amount of independent movement relative to said gage bar, and said gage bar being provided with a book-supporting ledge.

6. The combination, in a book-binders gage, with a table, of a clamp bar movable toward and away from said table, a gage bar supported in and by said clamp bar, the construction and arrangement being such that said clamp bar has a limited amount of independent movement vertically relative to said gage bar, and a stop carried by said gage bar and adapted to receive against it the front edges of the leaves of a book.

7. The combination, in a book-binders gage, with a table, of a clamp bar movable toward and away from said table, and a bar supported in and by said clamp bar, the construction and arrangement being such that said clamp bar has a limited amount of independent movement relative to said gage bar, and said gage bar being provided with a book-supporting ledge and with a book stop.

in the front side thereof, and a face plate secured to said bar, of a gage bar having projecting members which are received in said recesses and by means of which said gage bar is supported from and in said clamping bar and face plate, said clamping bar and plate being cut out to receive said gage bar bodily, the arrangement of parts being such as to allow for an amount of independent relative movement of said bars.

9. The combination, in a book-binders gage, with a clamping bar having recesses in the front side thereof, and a face plate secured to said bar, said bar and plate forming a holder, of a gage bar having projecting members which are received in said holder recesses and by means of which said gage bar is supported from and in said holder, said clamping bar and plate being cut out to receive said gage bar bodily, the arrangement of parts being such as to permit an amount of independent relative movement to said bars, and springs arranged to bear between said holder and said projecting members and normally retain said gage bar in its low position relativeto said clamping bar.

10. The combination, in a. book-binders gage, with a support for binders boards and books, of a member capable of cooperating with a book to gage for cutting purposes a board extended from an under shoulder of such book, when the latter is in contiguity with said member, under said member, means to prevent the bottom leaves of said book from following said board under said member, and means to force said member into clamping position relative to said board.

JAMES ADAMS.

\Vitnesses F. A. Cu'r'rna, A. C. Fameanks.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

